Soil Sisters provides professional landscaping services across East London, covering Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge and beyond. From complete garden design and build projects to hard landscaping, patio installation, soft planting schemes and garden renovations, our team handles it all. Call us on 0203 834 9807 or get in touch for a free consultation.
Landscaping Services in East London
We offer the full range, from initial design concept through to finished garden. Whether you want a designer to plan the space and hand over detailed drawings, or you want us to handle design and build from the first conversation to the last flagstone, we work the way that suits you.
- Garden design and build — full project management from concept to completion, including 3D visuals, planting plans, contractor coordination and site supervision
- Hard landscaping — paving, patios, decking, retaining walls, steps, raised planters, pergolas, garden walls and brickwork
- Soft landscaping — planting design, turf laying, raised beds, seasonal planting schemes and container planting
- Garden renovation — refreshing an existing garden that has lost its way; new paving, replanting, structural changes
- Patio and courtyard design — making the most of compact East London plots, including no-access rear gardens and side returns
- Roof terrace and balcony design — structural load assessments, lightweight materials, drainage solutions for Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and Hackney roof terraces
- Planting design only — plant selection, layout plans and sourcing for clients who already have the hard landscaping in place
What Does Landscaping Cost in East London?
This is the question everyone searches for and almost nobody answers. We will.
East London landscaping costs vary based on garden size, access, ground conditions and the materials you choose. The figures below reflect realistic 2026 prices for our projects in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Newham.
Design and Build Project Costs
| Project Type | Garden Size | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|
| Small courtyard or terrace | Up to 25 sqm | £12,000 – £22,000 |
| Medium garden | 25 – 60 sqm | £20,000 – £40,000 |
| Large garden | 60 – 120 sqm | £35,000 – £65,000 |
| Very large garden | 120 sqm+ | £60,000 – £100,000+ |
| Roof terrace or balcony | Any size | £15,000 – £45,000+ |
| Patio / paving only | Any size | £6,000 – £14,000 |
| Garden renovation / refresh | Any size | £8,000 – £25,000 |
Design Fee (Without Build)
| Scope | Typical Design Fee |
|---|---|
| Small garden or courtyard (design plan only) | £1,500 – £2,500 |
| Medium garden (full design pack with 3D visuals) | £2,500 – £4,500 |
| Large or complex garden (technical drawings + planting plan) | £4,500 – £8,000 |
Material Costs Per Square Metre (Supply and Install)
| Material | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porcelain paving | £100/sqm | £130/sqm | £170/sqm |
| Indian sandstone | £80/sqm | £110/sqm | £145/sqm |
| Reclaimed York stone | £130/sqm | £170/sqm | £210/sqm |
| Composite decking | £120/sqm | £160/sqm | £200/sqm |
| Real turf (supply and lay) | £18/sqm | £24/sqm | £30/sqm |
| Artificial grass | £55/sqm | £75/sqm | £100/sqm |
Access difficulties in East London can affect labour costs. A rear garden that can only be reached through the house typically adds 10–20% to project costs compared to a garden with side or rear gate access. We flag this clearly in our quotes. No surprises.
For a detailed breakdown of London landscaping costs, see our London garden design cost guide.
East London Landscaping Challenges We Know Well
If you have read a few garden design company pages, you will notice most of them could be describing anywhere in England. East London is specific and the challenges here are not the same as Dorset or the Cotswolds. Here is what we actually deal with on projects in E1 to E17.
London Clay and Ground Conditions
Most of East London sits on London clay — a dense, shrink-swell clay that heaves in summer and becomes waterlogged in winter. Any hard landscaping needs properly designed sub-base drainage to prevent movement and pooling. We specify 150mm compacted MOT Type 1 as standard, with additional drainage channels on clay-heavy sites. Victorian terrace gardens in Hackney and Bethnal Green often have a layer of ash and rubble below the top 200mm — remnants of 19th-century building waste — which means ground preparation takes longer than sites with uniform soil.
Victorian Terrace Access Issues
The majority of East London's housing stock is Victorian or Edwardian terraced. Many of these properties have rear gardens with no side or rear gate — the only access is through the house or via a shared passage. This matters for landscaping because all materials and spoil have to be carried through the building. We use protective floor coverings and mini-diggers where passage width allows (typically 700mm minimum). Where access is genuinely impossible for machinery, we specify lightweight materials and manual methods. It costs a bit more but it gets done properly.
Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings
East London has a significant number of conservation areas — Stoke Newington Church Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, parts of Hackney, Bow Quarter, the Clapton Park estate. Within these areas, some external works require permitted development checks or Listed Building Consent. We know which areas these are and we check before we design, not after. Nothing kills a project budget faster than ordering materials for a conservation area garden and then discovering the council has different views on what is appropriate.
New-Build Ground Conditions in Stratford, Bow and Canary Wharf
The Olympic legacy development around Stratford, the continued build-out of Canary Wharf, and new housing around Bow and Hackney Wick has produced a generation of gardens on made-up ground. New-build sites can have compacted subsoil, inconsistent fill material, and drainage systems that were specified for buildings rather than gardens. We always request a ground conditions report on new-build projects and we design drainage accordingly before laying anything.
The Party Wall Act
Any work within 3 metres of a neighbour's boundary that involves excavation below their foundation level, or work directly on or to a party wall, triggers the Party Wall Act. In East London's terraced streets, this catches more people than you would expect. We flag potential party wall notice requirements at the design stage, which gives you time to serve notices and get agreements in place before the build programme starts.
TPOs and Tree Management
Waltham Forest, Hackney, and the green edges of Newham near the Lea Valley have significant trees with Tree Preservation Orders. A TPO means you cannot lop, top, or carry out root zone work without council consent. If your design involves working near a protected tree, we commission an arboricultural report and deal with the paperwork as part of our project management service.
How We Work
- Free consultation — We come to your property, look at the space, listen to what you want to achieve, and have a proper conversation. No PowerPoint presentation, no sales script. We look at access, ground conditions, any planning constraints, and your budget. This takes about an hour and it is free.
- Design concept — Based on your brief, we produce an initial design concept including layout, materials palette, and planting direction. For design-and-build clients this includes a 3D visualisation so you can see the space before we build it. We revise until it is right.
- Detailed design and specification — We produce construction drawings, a full materials specification, and a planting plan. These are the documents that contractors price from and build to. This is where the £12,000 patio and the £12,000 patio that is actually £18,000 by the end part company — our specifications are tight enough that contractor quotes are accurate.
- Quotes and contractor selection — We obtain competitive quotes from our trusted network of East London landscaping contractors. We review them with you, explain the differences, and recommend. We do not take referral fees from contractors.
- Build management — We visit site regularly throughout the build, check workmanship against specification, resolve any ground condition surprises, and sign off each stage before the next begins.
- Completion and handover — Final inspection, snagging list, planting care notes, and a handover meeting so you know how to look after your new garden.
Areas We Cover in East London
We work across all of East London's boroughs. Below are the main areas we cover — but if your postcode is not listed, call us on 0203 834 9807 and we will confirm.
Hackney (E5, E8, E9)
Hackney is one of our most active areas. Victorian terrace gardens in London Fields, Dalston, Homerton and Clapton. Roof terrace and balcony projects in the converted warehouses of Hackney Wick and Haggerston. Challenging access in many properties, which we handle as standard. We also cover Islington and Camden which border Hackney to the north west.
Tower Hamlets (E1, E2, E3, E14)
Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Stepney, Bow, Poplar, Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. Tower Hamlets has a mix of Victorian terrace gardens, new-build developments, and high-rise balconies. Conservation area work in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green. New-build garden design and build around Canary Wharf and the new Crossrail developments.
Waltham Forest (E10, E11, E17)
Walthamstow, Leytonstone and Leyton. Larger garden plots than inner East London on average — more room to work with. Good rail connectivity to the rest of the site means material delivery is generally straightforward. We cover Forest Gate and Manor Park in neighbouring Newham for projects here too.
Newham (E6, E7, E13, E15, E16)
Stratford, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Plaistow, Custom House, Canning Town. Significant new-build development around Stratford and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Older terrace properties in Forest Gate and Manor Park.
Redbridge and Barking (IG1, IG2, E12, RM8)
Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Barking. We serve the inner Redbridge and Barking areas. These are typically larger plots than inner London and often represent better value for full garden design and build projects.
Garden Styles We Build in East London
East London clients tend to want spaces that work hard — outdoor rooms for eating and entertaining, not just somewhere to put garden furniture. The most common briefs we get are contemporary and minimalist, but we design across the full range.
- Contemporary garden design — clean lines, quality materials, low maintenance
- Courtyard and patio gardens — maximising compact Victorian rear plots
- Family gardens — lawn, zones for children, durable materials
- Small garden design — clever layouts for gardens under 30sqm
- Wildlife gardens — biodiversity planting, native species, urban ecology
- Japanese-inspired gardens — very popular in East London's more minimalist properties
Why Soil Sisters for Landscaping in East London?
We have been designing and building gardens across London and the South East for over fifteen years. Our projects have won awards and, more importantly, they still look good five years after we built them. We are fully insured with public liability cover, and all our project managers are professionally qualified — our principal designers are members of the Society of Garden Designers and hold RHS qualifications.
We do not subcontract our design work to freelancers and we do not use building contractors we have not worked with before. The people who quote your project are the people who build it, supervised by our team throughout.
We will also tell you when something is not possible, not practical, or not worth the money. That is rarer than it should be in this industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does landscaping cost in East London?
A typical small courtyard design and build in East London costs £12,000–£22,000. Medium gardens (25–60 sqm) run from £20,000–£40,000. Large gardens start at £35,000. Paving or patio-only projects from £6,000. Design fees without build start from £1,500 for a small garden. The main variables are access, ground conditions, materials, and complexity of design. We give detailed written quotes so you know exactly what you are paying for before work starts.
Do I need planning permission for garden landscaping in East London?
Most residential garden landscaping is permitted development and does not require planning permission. Exceptions include: gardens in conservation areas (some surface materials require approval), listed buildings (Listed Building Consent required for any alterations), works affecting Trees with Preservation Orders, raised decking over 300mm, and some structures over certain heights or areas. We check the planning position on every project before we design anything.
How long does a garden landscaping project take?
From first consultation to completed build, a typical medium East London garden project takes 12–20 weeks total. Design takes 4–8 weeks depending on complexity. The build itself, once started, typically runs 2–4 weeks for a medium garden. We give a realistic programme at the design stage and we do not start builds we cannot complete without breaking off — a half-finished garden in winter is no use to anyone.
My East London garden has terrible access — can you still work there?
Yes. This is one of the most common challenges in East London's Victorian terrace streets. Where machinery cannot access, we work manually or use compact equipment. We factor access restrictions into our quotes upfront — there is an additional labour cost for no-access gardens, typically 10–20% on the build price, but it is always accounted for clearly in our written quote. We use floor protection boards through the house and coordinate carefully to minimise disruption.
Can you help with a roof terrace or balcony in East London?
Yes. Roof terrace and balcony projects in Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Hackney Wick and other East London areas are a growing part of our work. These require careful attention to structural loading limits, drainage, waterproofing, and wind exposure. We always request structural engineer sign-off on load-bearing capacity before specifying materials, and we use lightweight substrate systems and composite or aluminium decking where weight is a constraint. Roof terrace projects typically start from £15,000 for design and build.
Do you offer garden design only (without the build)?
Yes. If you already have a contractor or prefer to manage the build yourself, we will produce a full design pack including layout drawings, materials specification, planting plan and 3D visuals. Design-only fees start from £1,500 for small gardens. The documentation we produce is detailed enough that any competent contractor can price and build from it accurately.
What areas of East London do you cover?
We cover all East London boroughs: Hackney (E5, E8, E9), Tower Hamlets (E1, E2, E3, E14), Waltham Forest (E10, E11, E17), Newham (E6, E7, E13, E15, E16), Redbridge and inner Barking. We also work closely with our East London garden design team and can extend to South East London and Essex border areas. Call us on 0203 834 9807 to confirm coverage for your postcode.
Start Your East London Landscaping Project
The free consultation is genuinely free. No obligation to proceed, no hard sell at the end of it. We come to your property, look at the space, and tell you what we think is possible within your budget. If we are the right fit, we discuss next steps. If we are not, we will tell you honestly.
Call us on 0203 834 9807 or fill in the contact form and we will be back in touch within one working day.
See our portfolio of completed garden projects for examples of our work across London and the South East. You can also explore the full range of our garden design services or get an idea of costs with our garden design budget guide.